On January 3, 2026, the U.S. military attacked Caracas and seized the Venezuelan head of state, Nicolas Maduro. Trump's actions to assume control of Venezuela and its oil reserves, and escalating threats against other nations, have resurrected the history of U.S. “gunboat diplomacy” from more than a century ago in Latin America.

Peter Kornbluh, a senior analyst on Latin America at the non-profit National Security Archive in Washington, D.C., will address this aggressive juncture and what it means for the future of U.S.-Latin American relations.

Kornbluh is the author of The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability, and co-author with William LeoGrande of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana.

Sponsored by Political Science, International Studies, Latin American & Latinx Studies, Sociology, and Earth Science & Geography.

This event is open to the public.